Chapter 3: Public Relations

"A child who is being abused on an ongoing basis needs to be able to function despite the trauma that dominates his or her daily life. That becomes the job of at least one ANP [alternate personality], whom the child creates to be unaware of the abuse and also of the multiplicity, and to "pass as normal" in the real world. The ANP is just an alter specialized for handling the adult world—in other words, the "front person" for the system."

― Alison Miller, Healing the Unimaginable: Treating Ritual Abuse and Mind Control

"Is it just me or have we been having a lot more meetings that normal lately?"

Bozé merely shrugs nonchalantly and replies, "First time I've been called in here for almost a month. It's merely you who's been called in repeatedly by the leadership."

"But I've been on my best behavior."

Wolf gins his usual grin that uncomfortably resembles an actual wolf's smile and says, "Not easy being popular is it rook? I heard a rumor that Vandham and Nagi are considering getting a special Comm device with just your number on it."

"If they agree to change it to a light that shines in the sky when they need me, I'll allow it. And I thought by now you wouldn't be calling me rook."

"Around other's I sure wouldn't, but in this room you're definitely the greenest of greenhorns. Hell, Colonel Elma over here is the second youngest in terms of serving in the military, and she's got you trumped by a good couple of decades!"

Rolling her eyes Elma replies, "I hear it's not nice to talk about a woman's age Wolf."

He gives a booming laugh that echoes throughout the room.

"Must be why I'm still single! I better work on my manners then."

"Forget your charming personality Wolf," Corwin cut's in as he smiles smugly "You of all people should know that calling our boy mascot here a Rookie ain't true by a half. One year on this planet and he's accomplished just about as much as I have in an entire military career."

Grinning at me in an disquietingly feral manner Wolf happily says, "Exactly! If it weren't for that damned amnesia or whatever I'd have nothing to hold over his head. Seriously, someone has to remember you from the White Whale rook."

"I might have been a stowaway and kept that a secret from all of you this entire time."

"Ha! If that's the case then I'm not even mad, since you're the best damn actor to ever exist in the history of forever."

Bozé proudly puffs his chest and looks directly at Wolf and Corwin.

"No pupil of mine would ever stoop to such a villainous act. Cross could resist even Mara itself, should he ever be needed to."

"You only say that because you haven't seen me when I'm hungry sensei."

"His one flaw is that he's acquired a barbed tongue as of late. A shame considering his purity when we first met."

"Why does everyone I know think I'm such an asshole now? Do I really come off like that?"

I'm stopped from getting an answer by the conference door opening and Doug walking in. Not giving him a chance to say anything I immediately ask, "Hey Doug, do you think I'm an asshole? Or am I actually a really good guy at heart who's just misunderstood?"

I hear Corwin mutter, "That's not really what the question was."

Doug looks completely lost.

"Where the heck did that question come from? Is this a bet of some kind?"

"No questions, just answer. Yes I'm a right Bastard or no, I'm a saint. Which is it?"

"Hmm…I'd say you're a selfless guy that has a bad habit of putting others before himslef…but these days you certainly have a lot more snark than before."

I give a defeated sigh and go back to staring at the front of the room to avoid everyone else's smug looks.

Starting up a conversation among themselves, Bozé, Corwin and Wolf go back to ignoring the rest of us while we wait for the leadership to arrive. I keep watching Doug and Elma out of the corner of my eye however, since Elma's little shyness episode has me interested to see where this goes. As an added bonus seeing how they interact might give me some much needed information on how to approach a relationship.

Good God, saying that aloud makes me sound pretty damn pathetic.

I'm brought out of my reverie by the door sliding open again with Nagi, Vandham and Chausson walking through. I can feel the air subtly shift at their appearance. Everyone here has been in the game long enough to know that a briefing conducted together by these three means that some serious business is about to go down.

Nagi clears his throat and addresses us in his steady voice.

"I appreciate you all attending this meeting given your many responsibilities, and hopefully we can keep this short and to the point. To begin with I'm assuming you're all familiar with the recent trouble involving the Nopon caravans that was resolved by Elma and Cross?"

Everyone nods.

"Good, then I can skip straight to the purpose of our meeting. All of you are to create new squads that will ideally take part in high-profile BLADE missions, among the more routine tasks you undergo. These squads will consist of a mixed group of both Humans and our new Xeno allies. It's our hope that the missions you undertake will provide a visible show of solidarity between the residents of NLA and our Xeno neighbors. I imagine some of you are wondering why you were picked specifically among the many other BLADEs. Commander Vandham will explain our selections."

"Ok let's keep it sweet and simple. All of you have some sort of reputation widely known throughout NLA and a record of success. Corwin, your Pathfinder team has been at the forefront of who-knows how many new expeditions, you have quite the pack of people always waiting for your next readers digest of discoveries. Wolf, you're the meanest, nastiest BLADE we have who's had a hand in the training of a lot of active duty BLADEs. You're also considered sort of the guy everyone can go to for advice, and have a heck of a combat record. Bozé, Doug. You two are some of the best Harrier's we have, both inside and out of a Skell. You participation in the Lifehold recovery Op also made you minor celebrities. Lastly Cross and Elma. You two practically write your own resumes. So any questions before we get to the finer details?"

I raise my hand.

"Ok it goes without saying why everyone else is in on this. But why am I here?"

"What, you need to ask?"

"I guess so."

"You're like the mascot of BLADE kid! One of the last found survivors of the White Whale's crash, who tragically suffered memory loss and can't remember hardly a thing apart from his name. Instead of becoming a liability, this guy becomes a part of Team Elma and took part in some of the most dangerous missions on Mira. Factor in that you would have made a damn fine Mediator what with you helping people up and down the whole city. Heck kid, it'd be harder to find someone who isn't interested in your career than it would be to find someone who is."

I go silent as I consider that. To be honest I never really cared about what the majority of NLA's residents thought of me. Heck, if we're being blunt here, I rarely even think about the city as a whole. All of my effort from day one was because of the people I knew, faces I remembered. That an entire city of people I've never even seen might be actively invested in my actions is a…strange…concept for me.

Chausson starts speaking and I focus on what he's saying.

"You're free to choose your own personnel, provided that they and their commanders agree to the transfer. The Wrothians and Prone currently have many unattached warriors that would make fine candidates, we've forwarded a list to your comm devices. If you have any questions feel free to talk to us after the meeting, otherwise you have five days to submit your personnel selection. Dismissed."

There's the sound of scraping chairs as everyone moves to leave the room, except for Wolf and Corwin who walk towards Chausson and the other two.

Find a squad of my own and take part in a bunch of high profile missions…I get the feeling I'm in way over my head.

"Whose bright idea was it that I should be given command of a squad? I thing Vandham and the rest are losing their minds."

Doug, Elma and Bozé look at me weirdly.

"What makes you say that my disciple? If anyone should be confident in their own leadership qualities, it should be you."

"What in the name of Buddha's left testicle makes you say that? I'm still calling you Sensei for crying out loud, shouldn't I be exempted from leading while still a student?"

He smiles like some old sage and replies, "You only refer to me as Sensei as a sign of respect, not defining our relationship. If nothing else you have taught me far more than I taught you. I would still be misguided in my anger towards the Xenos if it weren't for your admonishments."

"On that subject are you going to be okay with this plan Sensei? I mean the whole plan is based on interacting and working together with Xenos."

"I have come a long way since we first arrived on Mira, thanks to your advice. This will be a good opportunity for me to purge the last of my unfounded anger towards our allies."

Doug laughs and intercedes with, "I wouldn't worry about you feeling animosity towards your teammates Bozé. The Wrothians are something straight out of your wildest fantasy. Heck, you'll probably get along better with them than you do with other humans."

"I haven't had the opportunity to work with any of them before. You've certainly piqued my interest friend."

"I think I can point you in the right direction then Sensei. Try to get into contact with a Wrothian called Gu Ladha. She's a killer Skell pilot but has some confidence issues when it comes to fights out of the cockpit. I think you'd be a good mentor for her."

He smiles and happily says, "You'd recommend to me a new student? Well this is most certainly an interesting turn of events."

"She's a friend, so try not to beat her up too bad."

"I make no promises."

We fall silent as we exit HQ back onto the BLADE concourse. Bozé heads towards the hangars while we walk towards the main concourse.

While Bozé's confidence in me is slightly reassuring, I'm still apprehensive about this upcoming task. Put bluntly I have no idea what I'm supposed to do as a Squad Leader. While BLADE play's it pretty fast and loose with their approach to leadership styles and responsibility, there's still a certain standard of discipline and excellence expected.

My worry must have shown on my face, because Doug suddenly clasps me on my shoulder and gives me a confident smile.

"Don't worry about it too much Cross. Vandham and Nagi know what they're doing. If they're giving you a leadership position it's because they think you can handle it."

"And while I appreciate their confidence in me, the fact of the matter is that I have practically zero experience when it comes to command."

"You really think so?"

"I'd be willing to bet I know so."

"Well that's news to me. Last I checked you had already served as a mentor to a professional BLADE, spent almost a year serving under one of NLA's best officers, and helped settle disputes even a Mediator would have trouble with. Seems strange that you consider yourself so unprepared for this."

I frown as I consider that. Now that I stop to think about it, Doug has a point. While I've done almost zilch in practical leadership, I have a pretty good theoretical knowledge of what to do. There's a big difference between theory and reality, but at least I'm a little more confident about doing this now.

Elma smiles as I relax and offers some some advice of her own.

"You'll do just fine Cross. BLADE isn't like the militaries that were back on Earth, we don't have anywhere near the same level of discipline regarding hierarchy of command. Just be yourself and lead how you think you should lead."

Dough chuckles and adds, "I can second that. Not having to be at attention all the time took a lot of getting used to. The Coalition Army would have docked my pay for a month straight if I forgot to salute my superiors."

Now thats an interesting bit of info I never knew. In BLADE saluting is more of an honest gesture of respect, an acknowledgment of someone's achievements and station. Doug makes it sound like some sort of mandatory, meaningless gesture back on Earth.

Well, the more you know. Heck, I think I've only saluted maybe three times total in my stay on Mira.

Regardless, I'm not too worried any more. What can I say? Its good to have friends.

"Thanks guys, I no longer feel like crapping myself and going AWOL."

"Yah well, happy to help if it means we can avoid that particular mess." Doug amusedly replies.

I give an inward smile as I decide to let Doug and Elma have a little alone time. Who knows? They might actually decide to do something together.

"Well since I'm full of newfound courage and vigor, I think I'll go ahead and try to put together the most amazing team ever conceived by BLADE. Catch you two later!"

I head off towards the commercial district before they even have a chance to say anything, and I have to fight from laughing as I catch a glimpse of their stunned faces at my sudden departure.

Ok so where to start? Remembering what Doug said about me mentoring a certain BLADE I contact Mia. It only takes a few seconds before she answers with her usual excitement.

"What's up Chief! You calling to request assistance from your best ever protégé?"

"Funny you should phrase it like that, I am actually. How would you feel if you were offered a spot on a soon-to-be famous squad that earns it's well deserved infamy through dangerous and likely lethal missions?"

"Whoa are you serious Chief?! I am so so in! Are you the one in charge of this hypothetical squad?"

"Yah but I'm not joking about the dangerous-"

"Holy moly…me, a part of Chief's own personal team…that is SO COOL!"

"Mia! Listen to me for a second would yah? I get that your excited, but this was an assignment given by the top brass. I'm not joking when I say we're gong to be taking on some risky assignments. You sure you're up for that?"

"Well yah. And since when have you ever had any safe assignments?"

"There was that time we got Tora's guild coin."

"Which we had to get by killing a bunch of scary Indigens and then rescuing his dad who was about to be eaten by a giant sky squid dragon thing."

"Ok you win. Welcome to…whatever this squad is eventually gonna be be called I guess."

"You don't even have a name yet?! C'mon Chief get it together! Wait, why are you forming a squad of your own again? I though you were part of Team Elma?"

We were given permission to tell our squad mates why they were being selected, so I fill her in on the details.

"Well I'm happy to be a part of this Chief! Anyone else part of this group yet?"

"Nope, you're the first."

"I'm the first member of Team Cross? Nice!"

"Please don't call it that."

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because it's friggin embarrassing that's why!"

"Aw c'mon Chief it's BLADE tradition to name squads after their leaders. You can't deny tradition!"

"Watch me. Also are you interested in scouting out some other members? That's my game plan for the rest of today."

"Heck yes I am! Oh man I should totally wear my BLADE uniform and make a killer first impression!"

I roll my eyes.

"Just go in your casual clothing, we're not hiring for some corporation. Meet me at the the Forge as soon as you can, I'll be over there."

"Ok roger that Chief! See you then!"

I hang up and give a wry smile. First member acquired.

The Forge was named so with tongue firmly in cheek.

Located in between the Administrative District and the Residential Area, The Forge is home to a sprawling series of obstacle courses and wide open areas. While initially empty space, in the recent months it was expanded to be used as a training area for future BLADEs. As I walk over I can hear the yells of DI's, the clash of training weapons and the occasional gunfire. There's around six dozen or so BLADEs currently using the area, with a smattering of Wrothians and Prone scattered throughout.

I walk toward's the most frightened and harried looking trainees being hounded by the loudest of the DI's. Upon closer inspection I realize it's Irina who's making all the racket and scaring the pants off of the recruits.

"C'mon you slackers you can move faster than that! I've seen Pre-schoolers move quicker than you sorry lot, and they didn't even have MIM's! Once more! If any of you take longer than five minutes to go around the track, guess what? You'll run it again until you get it right! NOW MOVE!"

I give an appreciative nod at Irina's performance.

"I always thought it was a toss up between Elma and Wolf who was the scarier drill instructor, but damn if you didn't have some of those guys looking like they were about cry."

She turns towards me with a satisfied grin on her face and replies, "Best praise I've gotten in a long time. What brings you to the daycare Cross?"

"Mission from HQ. Me and a few others are supposed to be creating new squads comprised of both Human's and Xenos, so I figured I'd drop by to see if anyone looks promising."

"So that's what was going on. They pulled Wolf and Bozé away from a large chunk of their DI work, so me and a few others have had to pick up the slack."

I give a nod towards the sprinting pack of trainees.

"And it certainly looks like you've taken to your work with enthusiasm."

We're interrupted as Mia runs up to us wheezing like an asthmatic Nopon.

"Sheesh Mia. If your going to be on my squad just a little run can't have you gasping for breath. Maybe you should join the rest of those guys on their run. Get your cardio going."

Still gasping for air she retorts, "Gimme some slack Chief, I practically sprinted…from the Commercial District all the way here."

"What the Hell were you in such a hurry for?"

"You said…that you were going to be picking the rest of your teammates…I didn't want to miss that."

I dryly remark, "Well I'll give you full marks for enthusiasm."

"if it's skilled Xeno teammates you're looking for, I think I can help you on that matter," Irina says, "Take a look over there."

She points to where her group of recruits are on the last leg of their sprint. Two figures are clearly in the lead by a large margin, and as they cross the line I see that it's a male Wrothian and female Cavern Clan Prone. As they finish I notice that they're barely even breathing hard. The Wrothian in particular looks like he just went on a morning jog.

Irina consults her timepiece and nods approvingly.

"Vi Leand you made it in four minutes and twenty-one seconds. Julun you landed at a time of four minutes and twenty-three seconds. It's a shame that none of your Human teammates seem to be up to your two's standards."

She acidly directs this last line in particular to the rest of the BLADEs who start arriving gasping for breath.

She shakes her head and turns back to me.

"So how about it Cross? Those two have actual combat experience, so they're really only in here as a formality. They'd probably be way more productive in your squad than spinning their wheels over here."

"I'm a-ok with that. Mind introducing me?"

"Can do. Hey Vi Leand! Julun! Get over here for a minute!"

Not the most ceremonious way of introductions, but it'll have to do. They stop short about four paces away from Irina and stand at their species equivalent of attention.

"Listen up you two. Those two over there have a very unique offer, one that could get you an early ticket out of this joke of a training platoon. Listen very carefully to what they have to say."

She nods at me before turning her attention back to her recruits who are still standing in a heaving clump.

I give a good look at my potential battle buddies and try to get a good first impression reading of them before I launch into introductions.

The Wrothian Irina called Vi Leand is exactly my height, which is short for a Wrothian. His fur is also lighter than most males of his species, bordering on a dirty blond color instead of the darker red brown most Wrothians have.

The Prone called Julun is only slightly taller than me, but she has a well toned body and has a contemplative air to her. I'm still not good at telling Prone apart through only physical appearances, so hopefully I won't make an ass of myself and mistake her for someone else.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the both of them is in the way they carry themselves. They both have the same relaxed-but-not-relaxed aura of trained fighters, and they return my stare with level ones of their own.

I decide to go ahead and break the ice and open up with, "I guess introductions would be a good place to start. This one here to my left is Mia. She looks and usually acts like a dunce, but is handy in a fight, so I'd appreciate it if you go easy on her to start."

She scowls at me and growls, "That's how you introduce me to my future pals? Totally not ok Chief."

Ignoring her I continue with, "And as for me I'm the current leader of this squad. Name's Cross."

To my surprise both their eyes widen once they hear my name (Eye widening seems to be a universal sign of surprise among humanoids. This that have visible eyes anyway) and Vi Leand asks, "Just to be certain, but you did say Cross, am I correct?"

He has a light and almost musical voice which is uncharacteristic of most Wrothians, which catches me slightly off guard. Regardless I nod to his question and reply, "Yep. I hope that's not an issue or anything, did I piss off someone that I don't know about?"

They both vehemently shake their heads and Julun speaks up.

"My full name is Julun Boravo. And we meant no disrespect. I was trained by Captain Slovity, and she speaks highly of your skill and kindness. It is an honor to meet you in person."

Vi Leand also inclines his head and says, "It is the same with me. I was trained by Zo Ozuchi until his defeat in the tournament he hosted not too long ago. He spoke nothing but praise for your fighting skills."

I stand there like an idiot trying to think of something to say other than 'wow'.

Two disciples of both Zo Ozuchi and Slovity Pagus? That means these two could potentially be way, way scarier than I initially gave them credit for.

I get my act together and nod respectfully.

"If anything I should be the one praising them. They've helped Humanity out in more ways than I can count. On that note I haven't seen either of them in awhile, where are they these days?"

"Captain Slovity has been in Sylvalum the past month rescuing members of our clan. She is returning to the city soon though. She tells me the hunt has been successful."

"Can't say I'm all that surprised. So how's Zo Ozuchi holding up?"

"My master has been well, although he never tells anyone of his whereabouts, so he is prone to showing up randomly whenever he pleases. His last lesson to me was to join your BLADE organization and hone my skills here."

"Last lesson? Did you complete your training with him then?"

"After my Master's loss in the tournament he declared that he still had much training to do himself, and directed me to gain strength on my own."

"Oh…uh…I hope you're not upset that I kinda messed up your tutelage under him then."

"Of course not. If my Master decided that the most effective means to my improvement was to strike out on my own, then I will happily follow his teachings."

"That's a load off of my chest then. Anyway back to what I originally wanted to ask you two. BLADE HQ wants me and a few others to create multi-species squads that will take part in high profile missions and hopefully inspire a sense of solidarity and friendliness between our races. You two interested?"

Julun cocks her head and says, "Safe to tell us of your missions true purpose is it?"

I merely shrug and ignore Mia's chuckling.

"Well we're going to be risking our lives and everything if you decide to take part in this, so I figured I should just be up front with you about it. Not to mention that any students of Slovity or Zo Ozuchi are automatically trustworthy in my book."

They both stand a little straighter once they hear me say that. I guess they're both a lot more proud of their heritage than they let on. Well heck, I would be too.

Vi leand speaks up first and says, "I would be greatly honored to be a part of your group, Squad Leader. Serving under the man who beat my Master will surely benefit me."

Julun also agrees with, "I would be glad to serve under one that Captain Slovity considers both her friend and superior."

I hold back a frown at their words. I'd be a lot happier if they had decided to join this squad out of a desire to actually better NLA's circumstances instead of just wanting to join because of me being in charge.

I give a mental shrug. Maybe they'll have a change of heart as time goes on.

I'm about to wrap up the interview when Vi Leand suddenly speaks up with a serious look on his face.

"If I'm not being too presumptuous, may I ask for a favor from you squad leader?"

"Sure thing. And you can just call me Cross. I'm not all too fond of titles and whatnot."

He doesn't look too comfortable with my request but he carries on.

"Then, Cross. Would you have a match against me? I wish to test myself against the one who defeated my master in single combat."

"Sure, I'm down for that. But the reality is that I BARELY beat Zo Ozuchi. I had to take a gamble on my last move, and it was luck of the draw that I ended up winning."

He bows his head and replies with, "Humility is an admirable trait Squad Leader, but the fact remains that you did win, something I never would have thought possible."

Well he went back to formal titles pretty quick there. Guess he really isn't into being informal with his superiors.

"Well let's begin then. I just hope I don't end up disappointing you."

We square off as Julun and Mia both step off to the side. I hear Mia whispering conspiratorially to Julun, "Fifty credits on the Chief."

I take a moment to size up Vi Leand's combat stance. Standard Wrothian close combat form. Body coiled with knees bent to take advantage of their feline agility, with their arms poised to strike or defend. Not a bad decision when faced with someone of unknown skill.

I settle into a Weiji-do stance, my preferred way of dealing with unknowns. Weiji-do, or 'way of manifestation', is a form of meditative martial arts that grew out of Tai Chi. It's based on the principle of bringing forth order from primordial chaos, essentially using your mind to alter the base state of reality to bring forth change in your surroundings.

Which means a whole lot of nothing to your average Weiji-do practitioner. In practical terms Weiji-do is simply a useful concentration discipline that increases reaction time and allows flexibility in your movements.

In a nutshell? You imagine your body doing something, and your body will follow through.

Case in point: I hold an image of my left fist jabbing out towards his head, then allow that image to become 'real'. Exactly how I imagined it my fist shoots out towards him, but goes wide when he lightly moves his head to the side and his hand grabs my wrist. He twists it, hoping to end the fight with a disabling hold, but I counter lock and aim an open handed palm strike towards his temple with my right.

He reacts to this just as quickly as he did the punch, moving inside the strike and deflecting my blow with his upraised arm. Normally he would hold the advantage now, since he has a free shot at me with his right now that my other limb is out of position.

I was counting on this though. Mimeosomes aren't like a normal flesh and blood body, they can withstand shears of force that a normal body would buckle under, and can make use of the synthetic muscle structure to move limbs in surprising ways.

So when he moved in to block my arm, I was already in motion. Jerking my left knee so that it collides with his right and briefly topples him, I move my body right in time with his so that when he tries to regain his balance I'm already falling on top of him, bringing my entire center of mass to drive him to the ground. Making use of that arm he thought was blocked, I bring it around so that it lays against his throat.

We hit the ground hard which briefly stuns him and gives me plenty of time to thank the stars that I was in a MIM body. If I'd tried pulling that maneuver with my flesh and blood my knee wouldn't have had the momentum or weight to buckle his.

He regains his senses and notices my forearm poised above his throat. If I'd wanted to I could have crushed his throat when he hit the ground, pretty much ending the fight.

He taps my arm and I immediately get off of him, taking a moment to look at the crowd of astonished BLADE's who had all stopped their activities to watch our duel.

I guess they weren't so busy they couldn't gawk.

Getting to his feet Vi Leand bows and I spend a nervous moment wondering if I'm supposed to bow in return as well.

I'm no good at social customs.

Thankfully he doesn't seem to be expecting one and instead says, "That was an instructive fight Squad Leader, I offer my thanks to you for indulging me."

"Don't mention it, but I got to say, those are some amazing reflexes you have there. I'm pretty damn excited to have you on my team."

"Your words honor me."

Turning towards Julun and Mia, who are still off to the side, I address them in my best guess at an inspiring tone.

"Alright then. Julun Baravo, Vi Leand. Welcome to the team. I'm just going to once again state that this is a totally optional decision here, you aren't required to take on this responsibility if you don't want to or don't think you're up for it. Also I have no idea what the Hell I'm doing when it comes to actually running a squad, so things will likely be pretty informal and haphazard."

Probably not the slickest sales pitch ever invented, but I get the impression anything I say at this point won't scare them away. At least I hope not.

"I'll take care of your transfer out of Irina's group into mine, so don't worry about any of that stuff, and just focus on getting set for a mission as early as tomorrow. The sooner we start working as a team the better. So uh, that'll be all. Dismissed! Or however that goes."

I see Mia trying and failing to smother a laugh at my pathetic attempt at sounding professional and give an inner sigh. I don't think emulating Elma or Irina's style of leadership is going to work for me.

Like at all.

They seem to accept this without comment though and salute professionally before leaving. I give an audible sigh this time and turn towards Mia, who's still giggling like a demented Nopon.

"Yah yah, laugh it up. Shouldn't you be a bit more respectful of your superior?"

"But Chief…It's hard to take you seriously…when you try to act like your in charge!"

I head towards Irina, who's giving Hell to all the BLADE's who stopped to watch our match, in order to get my new team members transfer taken care of.

But mostly just to escape Mia's heckling.

About an hour later Mia and I are walking through the commercial district to grab a bite to eat when I spot a giant silhouette heading down the street.

"Hey Rock! You on break or done for the day?"

His head cranes towards me and I notice his usual passengers of Nopon and Ma-Non riding on his back. He gives a toothy grin and walks up next to us.

"Hey Cross, Mia. How are you two doing? And work finished up early today so I'm just sightseeing around the city right now."

"I'm surprised Celica isn't hanging out with you. You guys rarely have any free time together now. Or is she still on her mission outside NLA?"

He looks uncomfortable and shifty when I ask this and I immediately feel a slight sinking sensation in my stomach.

"Rock? What happened?"

"Oh uh, nothing serious. She's back in the city and she's not hurt or anything, but it sounded like the mission she was on went pretty badly."

I give an inward sigh of relief that she's not hurt and then refocus on Rock.

"So if she's not hurt then why isn't she spending time with you? Is the mission time sensitive or something?"

"I don't know the details too well, but it sounded like some of her teammates got hurt and, well…you know how she gets when things like that happen."

I frown at that. Similar to Hope, Celica tends to feel overly responsible for mistakes that might not even be hers, which isn't always that bad of a thing. But when events beyond her control cause damage, she'll still feel like she's at fault.

That I don't consider healthy.

Mia speaks up and says, "Hey Chief, can't we do something to help? Celia's my friend too y'know."

I frown at her words and think about it.

"I want to help out too Mia but we're right in the middle of HQ's assignment, not to mention we just picked up two new team members…"

I trail off as I get an idea that'll let us kill two Jacul's with one stone. Smiling I turn back to Rock and ask, "Hey Rock, I've got an idea on how to cheer Celica up, you want to come with us?"

"Thanks, but I still have to drop off these guys before I go anywhere." he says pointing to the others on his back.

"Besides she'll be super happy to know your helping out, I'll catch up with her later."

"And I think that'll be my cue to be on my merry way! Good luck Chief! Send me a message later when you have everything all figured out! Hey Rock mind giving me a ride?"

I yank my head around as Mia jumps onto Rocks back and settles in.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"Huh? Well obviously I'm going to let you make an executive call as Squad Leader without the worry of having your subordinates influence your decision."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that's a load of crap."

"Sorry Chief can't hear you! Let's go Rock!"

"See you later Cross! Celica should be at Deliverance Park, thats usually where she goes when she's upset. Good luck buddy!"

I stand there and guess this is karma for when I ditched Elma and Doug earlier.

Half an hour later I'm walking across the southern part of Deliverance Park towards where Celica and Rock usually hang out in their free time. They like this spot since it has a great view of both the new Residential Section and the Ma-non's ship, as well as a nice sloped area for Rock to recline on.

Sure enough I see her sitting beneath one of the transplanted oak trees scrolling through her comm device with a depressed look on her face. I frown as I notice that her hair, usually shoulder length and falling over the right side of her face, is shorter than usual and pulled back fully revealing both her eyes.

I walk up beside her and sit down heavily.

"I think this might be the first time I've seen your right eye completely unobstructed. It's a good look."

She jumps and looks at me with a startled look on her face and exclaims, "Cross! You almost gave me a heart attack, don't go sneaking around like that!"

"I wasn't sneaking. As a matter of fact I was being louder than normal since I wanted to avoid scaring the daylights out of you."

"Scaring the daylights?"

I Shrug.

"Another one of Earth's idioms I picked up. Beats me where it came from though, I'm no expert."

She winces and says, "Forgive me, I didn't intend to make fun of your missing memories of Earth."

I can't help but laugh at that. That's Celica alright, worrying over everybody's feelings but her own.

"C'mon Celica I'm not gonna be upset about that. If I got mopey every time someone made a reference to Earth I didn't get I'd be the most depressed person in the city. Heck, I came here hoping to cheer you up, not make you even more morose."

She gives a small smile at that, which is a big relief for me.

"Well if your willing to listen, I do have a problem I could use your advice on. Allow me a minute to finish my report then we'll talk."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

She goes back to her device and I lay down on the grass, using this moment of peace to take a closer look at her.

It often strikes me how similar all the Xenos we've encountered are to Humans. Well maybe similar is the wrong word, since we all have our own cultures, values, anatomy etc. But all of us seem to share a few common traits. We're all roughly Bipedal organisms with outwardly obvious sexual differentiation (provided said species has different sexes) and use sound as a form of communication. We even have similar genetic makeups at a basic level, hence why so many Xeno's can and will gorge themselves on Earth food without getting violently sick(binge eating doesn't count).

Of all these similarities though, Qlurians are bizarrely close to humans in almost all respects. Aside from their ears, which seem to be a cross between a Cat's and a Wolf's, they're anatomically identical to humans.

Heck, Celica's even told me about how some our terrestrial creatures like Cat's are pretty damn similar to her species's versions.

It's a big Galaxy out there, so it's not all that weird that organisms nearly identical to Human's exists, but running into each other on the same planet at the same time seems to be quite the bizarre coincidence of timing.

I digress. Perhaps the point I'm trying to make is that of all the Xeno's in NLA, Qlurian's would be the easiest to associate with Earth standards of beauty.

And Celica is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Beautiful enough that I count myself lucky that she even bothers to talk with me. She's gotten quite used to Earth fashion as well, as today she's dressed in a knee length skirt and hoodie likely straight from the newest stocks of NLA's retailers.

Quite a bit different from the fashion retard that I am. I'd sooner die than tell anyone this, but it was Elma and Lin who mostly advised me on what to wear when I first came to NLA, since I had no clue what clothing was supposed to go with what. I'm pretty sure Lin is saving that particular bit of info for when she needs a favor from me.

Celica finishes up whatever she was doing on her comm and looks back towards me.

"Sorry for making you wait Cross, are you still willing to listen?"

"Don't be such a stranger, course I am."

She gives a wry smile at my comment.

"You remember when I told you about the mission in Noctilum, correct?"

"Yah, you said it should only be about five days or so right? Things went badly I assume?"

She wordlessly nods.

"It was a simple Prospector mission. A clothing business in NLA needed an extra supply of materials for a special event they're hoping to host farther down the road, so they posted a request for Harnenga Cotton. I have a team I usually join up with when a job is a bit too big for one person, and we set out to complete it…we made a very crucial yet simple mistake. We relied too heavily of FrontierNav."

I think I see where this is going.

"Let me guess. Something that didn't show up on FrontierNav ambushed you?"

"Indeed. We didn't detect a nest of Scirpos since they were dormant until they woke up and surrounded us. We still made sure to leave an escape route open but…thankfully no one was killed but there were a number injuries, and several of them are in the MIM repair center now."

She touches the end of her hair, which now that I look closer at it has been cut as if there was burn damage at the ends. Almost as if acid had narrowly missed her head. She bitterly says, "I wasn't of much help either."

She gives a heavy sigh as she finishes.

"Commander Vandham was less than pleased at the news, and he made that clear. Loudly."

I give a nod of understanding. I can actually sympathize with both parties on this one. On the one hand Celica and her team made a rookie mistake, but it's an easy one to make. The past few months FrontierNav has been expanded so thoroughly that getting reliable data has become much easier. If Kirsty and Elma hadn't spent my first few weeks as a BLADE beating into my head that FrontierNav is a guideline rather than gospel, I probably would have made the same mistake at some point in my career.

"Well he was right to do so, and obviously this is something you want to keep in mind for the future…but the other guys on your team should have known about this, since it is our tech and all. And no one died, so just take this as a learning opportunity rather than an utter failure."

She gives a shy smile at my words.

"Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it Cross."

"Any time. Besides, I have an offer for you that'll help both of us."

"Oh? You certainly have my interest." She says slyly.

"I just started forming my own squad today and I'm looking for a mission that'll help us get used to working together, if you're on board with it we can help you finish your assignment. Kill two Jaculs with one stone and everything."

She narrows her eyes at me suspiciously, which is totally not the reaction I was expecting.

"You started forming your own squad? You never seemed very enthusiastic about such a thing before. What caused this change of heart?"

"Order's from HQ. They're looking to create squads of Human and Xeno members that'll take part in big name assignments, hopefully making everyone a bit more comfortable with each other."

"I see."

She stays silent for a few seconds seemingly thinking about something before staring me square in the eye.

"Cross, if your amicable to the idea, would you allow me to join as part of your squad?"

I try to think of something more intelligent to say than, 'huh?' and don't quite make it.

"Huh?"

"Exactly what I said. I fit all the criteria, and I am willing to take on the risk associated with being part of such a group."

"Why the heck would you want to join? We're going to be taking on-"

I snap my jaw shut before I say, 'missions too dangerous for you'.

She seems to clue in though and scowls at me.

"You were about to say something along the line of, 'too dangerous', were't you?"

I sigh and reply, "Sorry, that was a reflex. What I'm trying to say is that while I'm really happy you want to join, I just want you to be aware that some of the stuff we'll be taking part of is likely gonna be nasty."

Which is the truth really. While I really don't feel comfortable accepting Celica onto my squad, that's mostly a misplaced desire to keep her safe. You'd never guess it simply by looking at her, but Celica has the skills of a veteran BLADE. Spending quite a bit of her last two years on the run from the Ganglion in the wilds of Mira has given her hands on survival experience few other Humans can match. She would be a massive help to my group and I know it.

My words stop her for a moment before she reaches out and places her hand on top of my own.

"I understand why you want me to think about this carefully Cross, and I truly am happy that you feel that way. But I'd be far more at ease if I was at your side than simply hoping that you stay safe." She grins and happily adds, "You have a rather bad habit of putting others ahead of yourself."

I chuckle at that and give her hand an answering squeeze.

"Like you're one to talk about being too selfless."

I meet her eyes and the moment stretches…before I chicken out and abruptly stand up. I clear my throat and look at her and notice that she seems a little flustered herself.

"So uh…welcome to the team then. I'm getting a schedule worked out for tomorrow, I'll let everyone know tonight what the plan is. That work out for you all right?"

"Oh, um. Yes. Certainly."

She abruptly stands as well and says, "Then I'll plan to see you tomorrow Cross. Thank you again for accepting me into your squad. Take care."

She gives a nervous sort of smile before walking off in a hurry.

I just stand there and try to sort through what the Hell just happened.

While I'll be the first to admit that I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to social interplay and all it's nuances, I feel safe in assuming that was a bit more than just a friendly exchange.

I give my head a shake and refocus. My difficulty with romance and it's labyrinthine nuances can wait until our mission is over. Getting my squad to run smoothly is more important.

That's what I keep trying to convince myself anyway.

About fifty yards away Mia was covertly watching Cross along with Lin and Alexa. After realizing that Cross would be alone with Celica, and would be trying to cheer her up, she had immediately messaged Lin with the details. Lin had been working with Alexa in the Outfitters Hangars and had dragged her along for their spying-er…reconnaissance operation.

Which was all well and good, except now Lin looked like she was ready to rip someone's head off and kick it down the street.

"What is wrong with that guy?!" She exclaims half hysterically. "She was totally into him, going so far as to grab his hand and everything, they even locked eyes for a awhile there! Is he retarded? He has to be!"

Alexa seems a bit amused by Lin's outburst but tries to console her anyway.

"I know what you mean Lin. I thought Camber and Mica were awkward to watch flirt but, well…that was…special in a dumb sort of way. But hey. Remember to go easy on the guy, if I understand his memory issues right this is a first for him."

"Yah I know," Lin sighs heavily, "But that doesn't make it any easier to watch them just passively flirt. They're constantly laying their lives on the line out there, it'd be nice if they would just get over themselves and start going out already."

She fixes her gaze on me next.

"Mia, you're part of the idiots squad. You better make sure that numbskull gets his act together and makes a move already."

"Wait, me? While it's cool that you think I'm a matchmaker and all, that is so way out of my expertise Lin."

"You've had boyfriends before right? C'mon use some of that prior experience and get those two together already."

"Just because I've dated someone before doesn't make me some sort of magical Casanova Lin. Besides, those two have 'puppy love'. THAT is something I have no idea how to handle."

"Big use you are." She grumbles.

"Besides, isn't it the job of the younger sibling to mess around with the older siblings love life?"

"I've been trying, but he always just makes fun of me or answers sarcastically!"

Alexa finally gets bored enough to interrupt with an impatient look on her face.

"While I'm stoked that you two are having a fun ol' conversation here, this little trip is cutting into my lunch break. Can we start heading back now?"

Lin sighs dejectedly.

"Yah let's go. Man what a letdown."

Alexa grins and claps Lin on the shoulder.

"Don't be so down kiddo, we have a surprise for your dumb old brother now don't we?"

Lin's eyes light up and she exclaims, "Oh man I almost forgot! C'mon let's hurry back and call him, he's gonna be super happy about this!"

I can't help but grin at their obsession when it comes to engineering stuff. I can totally understand though, since I used to be a mechanic and all.

Lin waves at me as they run off towards the Hangars and yells, "Catch you later Mia! Remember what you're job is!"

I roll my eyes and wave back before heading towards the barracks. If I know the Chief like I think I know the Chief, he has an interesting team bonding exercise in the works.

"I appreciate the call and everything, but I'm sort of busy right now Lin."

"Not busy enough for this. Stop by the A.D. Hangar on the pronto Cross, there's a little present waiting for you."

I get a frown on my face at her words. I think I like where this is going.

"When you say stop by the hangar, is it because…"

"I ain't saying until you're over here."

I haul my ass over to the Hangars in record time and see Alexa and Lin standing off to the side with identical grins on their faces.

"So whats the big rush? I had to cut short my lunch and frantic planning session for this-"

I stop as I look to the side and see a beautiful sight. My completely repaired Lailah in all her wonderful, lethal glory.

Well not completely the same, I notice a few differences in the current model compared to my old one. The head has two longer spoiler like flaps attached to it that look like they're packed with sensor equipment, while the leg and arm sections have additional armor attached to them. I gotta admit, I like the change.

I grin like a madman and pick up Lin in a bearhug.

"This is awesome! Leave it to the little genius engineer to finish things ahead of schedule!"

Alexa looks at me with an annoyed look on her face.

"Ya know I DID kinda have a hand in fixing her up as well. Where's my fervent thanks?"

I set Lin down as she looks like she's about to pass out and give Alexa a knowing grin.

"I figured working on the Skell itself was it's own reward."

"Hey I enjoy praise just like any other human being."

I grab her hand a shake it vigorously, saying "In that case your the best Alexa. Walk me through the changes here guys, you've got my interest running full throttle here."

Lin gives me a reproachful look and scolds, "You need to ease up on those hugs of yours Cross, I think someone slipped your MIM a few extra muscle strands or something. Anyway we've got quite a few improvements to go over here. Alexa, take it away."

"Well there's not too much to tell really, despite what Lin says. The unabbreviated list of changes is mostly technical, not practical. Long story short all that extra armor isn't going to add any extraneous weight to your Skell. In between the Ganglion tech we've recovered, Ma-non and Wrothian material refinement techniques as well as good ol' human know-how we have some pretty cool new armor composites to work with."

"Coming up with stuff must be pretty interesting when you have three different cheat sheets to work with."

"You know it. This plating is the real deal. It's got better heat diffusion properties, only weighs 3/4's of what our old stuff used to and is roughly twice as tough. If you want to punch through that armor in one shot you're gonna have to use Skell class heavy weaponry, small arms fire ain't gonna cut it any more. Also it has better joint protection since we can pack on the extra plates."

"I notice the head has a little extra added to it. Is that cosmetic?"

Lin gives a smug smile and says, "As if! That's an extra sensor suite package in there. You'll have better passive and thermal imaging, about three times the radar detection range as well as added protection against any electronic override attacks. We got that particular design from the Orpheans."

I haven't stopped smiling for the past few minutes, and I don't think I'm stopping anytime soon.

"I think I'm in love all over again. Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought repairs weren't supposed to be done here for another couple days."

"They weren't, but Vandham dropped by a couple days ago and gave us a list of names that would be given priority for repairs, upgrades, etc. Your name was on there, so we went right to work."

I give a shake of my head. I have no idea how Vandham and the rest manage to juggle what to me seems like a million different things at once, but manage they do.

Lin pats the leg of my Skell and says, "So do you want the usual load-out on her? Or do you have something else in mind?"

"Ditch most of the weapons and swap it out for a non-aggressive package. Also attach a passenger pod to the back slots, I'll have company along for the ride."

Alexa gives a disappointed sigh.

"Her maiden voyage and it's just as a tour bus. That's so not cool."

I ignore her and immediately revise my plan for tomorrow.

We're going to Noctilum in style.

I take a deep breath and try to calm my nerves. You'd think facing down death on an almost routine basis would make me super relaxed when it comes to the simple things in life, like meeting new people or trying to organize missions between teammates. But nope, I still get as nervy about this stuff as I did when I first arrived in NLA.

My second day of being Team Leader and I already want to quit.

I see Vi Leand approaching and desperately try to act cool and composed. He walks up to me and salutes, which I forgot is something most Xeno's do to their superior officer. Christ, I really don't like it. It makes me feel like some sort of hardass drill sergeant.

Pulling myself together I decide to respond with a nod and a friendly greeting.

"Morning Vi Leand. You feeling up to today's mission?"

He gives a confident nod without a moments hesitation.

"Yes Lieutenant. I'm looking forward to learning from you perform on this and all future missions."

I frown.

"Lieutenant? I thought I was Squad Leader."

He looks surprised and quickly says, "My apologies if I offended you with that title. If you prefer I can refer to you as Squad Leader instead of lieutenant."

"Well if we're talking about what I prefer I would definitely just like to be called by my name. Wait, never mind that, where did you hear me being called a lieutenant?"

"Ladies and Gentleman, our great leader in his natural environment."

I turn around and see Mia with a smug look on her face followed by Celica and Julun.

Continuing on she explains, "Cross, you were promoted yesterday. Don't tell me you didn't get a notice or anything."

My eyes widen as I remember getting a message that had something written about becoming a BLADE officer on it…I had immediately trashed it because I though it was spam.

Whoops.

Celica seems to clue in on my shock and says, "You didn't notice it did you?"

"Well I did but…it had this long serial number in front of it so I just assumed it was some sort of automated message that didn't mean anything."

Both Mia and Celica roll their eyes.

"Hey c'mon it's not totally my fault. I was in a meeting with Vandham and Nagi just yesterday, if it was such a big deal they could have just told me then."

"Probably because they figured you would have the smarts not to just trash HQ messages Chief. But hey, everyone get's a case of the dirt brain once in awhile."

"I don't know what dirt brain specifically entails, and I don't want to find out. Let's move on shall we?"

"Whatever you say Chief."

I grumble under my breath. Off to a stellar start aren't we?

I turn my attention to Vi Leand and Julun who are staring at me with obviously uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"Don't worry about her, she'll be court martialed once we get back. I can do that now that I'm an officer you know."

"And thus we witness the death of a true hero, and the birth of a dictator…"

I hear a muffled snort that was probably Celica failing to hold in a chuckle at Mia's commentary.

Ignoring them I address everyone at once.

"Alright guys here's the rundown. It's a simple collection mission with a small twist to it. Some Scirpos have taken up residence around the collection point, so we're going to have to sneak around em' to get to our objective. Or we can, y'know, go in guns blazing and all. We'll play it by ear and come up with a plan once we get to the site. Any questions?"

Julun raises her hand.

"I have not had much experience fighting these particular indigens. While I would desire nothing more than to fight alongside all of you, I might be burden during combat."

Vi leand speaks up as well, adding "My experience with these creatures is also limited, I should mention."

I nod and smile. I'm glad these two aren't too proud to admit their own shortcomings if it comes to it.

"Not a problem, the main point of this mission is mostly just to get a feel how each of us fight and hash out some basic teamwork. Our deadline for team formation isn't for another couple of days anyway. Anything else?"

Everyone stays silent.

"Alright, then let's move out."

Twenty minutes later we're in the hangar and all set to go. I can't help but grin as I climb into my Skells cockpit and enter my BLADE I.D. into the startup console. With a small shudder the reactor kicks on and my displays come alive in a flurry of startup info. Fuels topped off, all equipment is loaded and all sensor feeds are working just fine.

I click on the intercom and check in on the rest of my team.

"How you guys holding up back there? Everyone all set?"

Mia comes back with an affirmative, saying "We're all settled back here Chief, ready to go whenever you are. Just try not to doing anything that'll make us spill our drinks back here."

"No promises, I haven't gotten to take this baby out for a spin in weeks."

Where the usual back weapon's would be is a modified Ma-non storage pod that can hold up to eight passengers. Once it had been proven that Skell flight packs wouldn't spontaneously combust upon activation, NLA engineers had started working on a way to allow Skells to carry additional passengers, should the need arise.

The Ma-non had dozens of empty storage containers lying around their ship, and were happy to give most of them over to BLADE at the expense of some of Earth's more savory culinary masterpieces. Their containers have an artificial-gravity emitter loaded into each one that keeps the cargo stable even under the harshest of interstellar maneuvers. I would have to pull off some seriously violent twists and turns if I want to even so much as nudge the innards of the pods.

That gravity emitter also provides a stable 'up' and 'down'. Suddenly flip the pod on it's head and the only change it's passengers will note is a change in scenery. Easily the best deal Human's have cut on this planet yet.

The important part is that now I don't have to hold back on going wild during the drive to Noctilum. I switch over to West Gate control and log our departure before heading towards the exit. The gates are rarely closed anymore in NLA, since there's enough traffic and not enough threats to go through the hassle of closing then opening a who-knows-how-many metric tons of reinforced gate. Most predatory Indigens learned the hard way that getting too close to the gate with a bad attitude is rewarded with of burst of heavy weapons fire, while non-aggressive Indigens don't find the burnished alloys of NLA's walls to be particularly palatable. I give a wave towards the other Skells on guard duty before breaking into a jog towards The Grieving Plains.

The intercom crackles and Mia's voice reverberates through the cockpit.

"How come you're not soaring through the skies yet Chief? I thought you were all excited to be back in the saddle again."

"We have some spare time on our hands, we'll be driving until we reach the coastal line, then start flying. In the meantime let's take a moment to talk a little bit, get to know each other…but first…"

I grin uncontrollably as I push down and up on the pedals, giving the Skell the command to jump while I hit the transformation switch on my right control panel. Mid-air transformations can be a bit tricky even with the auto-balancer making sure you don't land upside down. Most rookie Skell pilots either don't leave enough ground clearance before switching modes or transform too high in the air and spend a few awkward seconds hanging in the sky or smashing into the ground in a tangle of half-transformed limbs. Mine was perfect, landing exactly as I finished the switch. I jam on the accelerator and send the Skell headed straight for a small rise, clearing it and sailing over a startled herd of Ovis who bleat in momentary panic.

There's a mix of excited and startled yelps from everyone in the Pod and I laugh as I land in a skid that perfectly slews us in and out of a copse of Miran tree's.

Man I really, really missed my Skell.

Bryce Patterson yawned as he headed out for his shift on watch at Sylvalum's South Hardheart BLADE listening outpost. While the Ganglion had been pushed out of Hilal stronghold entirely, along with large chunks of the Delusions Mountain area, they still had a strong grip on their Anvil Rock One base, as well as the main path that led to Cauldros. HQ had decided to consolidate their position instead of trying to advance further and risk aggravating the Ganglion, relying on a few listening posts like their's to provide advance warning of any potential Ganglion attacks or movements. It was a fairly boring job when nothing was happening, but that suited Bryce fine.

Adventure was overrated. He was perfectly content with observing, and watching the alien landscape of Mira go about it's business. Things has gotten dicey a few days back when Ganglion activity had sudden spiked, with Skells of all classes and even a few Xerns going back and forth between the base and other locations, but by yesterday the vast majority had departed, and had given no sign of noticing their little outpost.

Grabbing his rifle and heading towards their primary observation point he waved at Emily who was busy sending yesterdays report to NLA. She gave a distracted wave in return, obviously focused on her work. There were six of them at this particular outpost, four on duty while two rest in rotating shifts.

He continued walking for about five minutes before arriving at their camouflaged point. Covered with an electronic camo tent that acted as both a Faraday cage and visual masking cover, it was hard to spot even when you knew where to look. He knocked on the top of the net before speaking up with, "Shift's over Kevin, time for you to clock out and grab some sack time."

Instead of the calm and relaxed tone the older man usually answered with, only silence met Bryce. He frowned. Had Kevin fallen asleep? Not bloody likely. The guy was a stickler for discipline, he'd sooner cut off his own ears than fall asleep at the job.

He peeled back the tent flap and stared in shock for almost a full second at Kevin's beheaded body. Snapping out of his surprise Bryce immediately brought his rifle to his shoulder and started scanning his surroundings, his breathing going in short and quick. That clean cut wasn't the style of Indigens. That was Ganglion work.

He grabbed is radio and frantically spoke into it.

"Emily, David, keep your eyes peeled, Ganglion soldiers are likely converging in our position. No jokes, Kevin's already down, respond."

Only silence greeted him.

Cursing under his breath he turned and sprinted back towards the base, praying that it was merely jamming that was preventing any sort of response, and not that no one was left to respond.

A minute later he arrived at the periphery of their camp and slowly scanned the area, trying to pick out any signs of Ganglion.

Nothing.

He frowned at the unnatural quiet. He began slowly advancing, always trying to keep some solid object at his back he moved towards the communication table, hopefully to get a distress call to NLA.

Making it unmolested he noticed that Emily was slumped over the table. He took one last look around and then moved quickly to her side. He winced as he noticed she had also been decapitated much like Kevin.

At least there was one silver lining to this whole mess though, the communications relay was still working. Breathing a sigh of relief he moved to send a distress signal.

And then stopped.

Ganglion soldiers had clearly already killed everyone here, but the obvious communications equipment was still entirely intact. Either they were overconfident in their abilities…or this was bait.

His eyes widened and he threw himself sideways just as the air hissed where his head had been a split second ago. Coming to his knees with the rifle raised, he took stock of his opponent. A tall humanoid figure wearing some kind of cloak with several melee weapons on their person. A Ganglion Milsaadi assassin.

Not wanting to give it a chance to pull any other crazy maneuvers he sighted on it's center of mass and moved to pull the trigger.

Or at least he tried to, since all of the sudden his body didn't want to listen to his commands. Even more bizarre was that his field of view started to tilt backwards, until it did a full 360 and he suddenly found himself experiencing a strange image of the world crazily rotating around him.

There was a sense of impact that seemed to come from far away and Bryce couldn't help but wonder with a sense of growing panic what exactly was going on.

A body crumpled to the ground next to him and the peculiar thing about this was that said body seemed to look a lot like his.

Exactly like his.

Distantly he heard one of the Milsaadi say, "Base is secured, squadrons can begin moving out.", and opened his mouth to ask what the Hell they were planning. No words came out however, only a gasp of escaping air.

One of the Milsaadi turned to stare down at him and said with a tone of mild surprise, "This one yet lives."

"Allow me to remedy that." the other one replied as it walked over, raised it's foot and brought it down on Bryce's face.